A micro air vehicle (MAV), which may also be referred to as an unmanned air vehicle (UAV), may operate in complex topologies such as mountainous terrain; urban areas; and confined spaces. By way of example, the MAV may be guided using a wireless remote control device for a variety of purposes, such as the collection of ambient gaseous particles, observation, thermal imaging, etc. MAVs may be employed by the military or police for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in open, rolling, complex and urban terrain. To enhance the effectiveness and controllability of the MAV, its structural and control components should be as lightweight as possible. Some MAVs recently deployed in military operations have been about nineteen (19) inches in diameter with a dry weight of about fourteen (14) pounds. A collision with the terrain or structure has the potential to disable or damage the MAV to the extent that it may not be able to further perform its intended function and further be non-repairable.
Current MAVs are limited to flying in open areas away from urban environments and terrain obstacles because they have no ability to sense proximity hazards. An on-board proximity sensing device should be able to broadly localize obstacles in both terms of distance and direction. For larger types of airborne vehicles, the on-board proximity sensing device could take the form of a collision avoidance radar unit that includes sectoral coverage antennas and associated beam-switching hardware. Thus, the antennas take the form of multiple antennas placed on desired sectors of the airborne vehicle. One major drawback of using these types of collision avoidance radar units is that they are both large and heavy. No sensor of this type has proven to be sufficiently lightweight to be carried by the MAV.